


End of story

by Mendelynn



Category: Naruto
Genre: Afterlife, Canon Compliant, M/M, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Rewriting Kishimoto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26915230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mendelynn/pseuds/Mendelynn
Summary: In the fight against Pain, Kakashi dies. He doesn't mind. He's going to see Obito again. And Rin. Or not.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Hatake Sakumo, Hatake Kakashi & Nohara Rin & Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81





	End of story

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya!
> 
> This is not what I wanted to do...  
> This is not what I wanted to write.  
> I played "Tears in Heaven" on my piano today and I had an idea (someone take that piano away from me, I've got too many ideas already).  
> So I sat to write it down.  
> This is not what I had in mind. I did not plan to rewrite this scene. I did not know there would be KakaIru coming into this.  
> But Kishimoto didn't know there would be KakaIru when he wrote the story so...  
> Anyway... this is probably my favourite moment in Naruto.  
> Yes, I'm basically copying Kishimoto. Sue me. I have no rights to this story anyway.  
> But I like a bit of Kakashi pov from time to time.
> 
> Enjoy.

Ah… so this is what it was like. Kakashi would’ve expected more pain… of all things, he would not have thought he’d kick the bucket because of chakra exhaustion. By now, he had been too close to that point too often to actually die from it. Or so he’d thought. Ironic, wasn’t it? He would’ve expected to be afraid but… no. It was oddly peaceful. Comforting even. He’d done everything he could. He had used the last bit of his remaining chakra the best way possible. He’d done what every good ninja should’ve done and now he could leave. Finally. This was the end of his story.

Rin flashed before his eyes. Obito. Sensei. So you actually saw your life pass in your last moments. He would’ve smiled if he could but… he didn’t feel his body anymore. He was floating. Somewhere. Everywhere. It was dark and light at the same time. This was good. Kakashi decided he liked dying. Weird, giddy excitement crept up. Happiness. He would see Rin again. Would she recognise him? Would she smile at him with her kind brown eyes like she’d done then? Would she embrace him? Would she remember his name? Would she say it again? Happy, not dying? Would there be anything after this anyway? Yes. Kakashi was curiously convinced there was. He was dying. Or maybe he was dead already. But he was still existent. He didn’t feel like disintegrating into nothingness. It was more like going somewhere he’d never been before. The afterlife.

There was water. He saw his own face reflected. The battle-tired look. The blazing red sharingan. Obito’s eye had served him well. But he wouldn’t see the future with it. He would finally be able to give it back to its rightful owner. And he would finally apologize to Rin. Not that she would be mad at him. She was too kind to be mad. Maybe Obito was mad at him for killing her. He hadn’t kept his promise to protect her. Maybe he should apologize to Obito instead. He couldn’t wait to see them again. It was as if they were standing behind him. Was it their reflection in the water? No. Just him. Hovering a few inches above the surface. Time had stopped for a second. Or a year. There was no time. Obito. Rin. Their idea drifted farther away from him. No. He wanted to get closer. He wanted to go to them. Join them. The water’s surface came closer, he reached it and then it was gone. It was dark again. Gravity. He was standing upright. Solid ground beneath his feet. He just started walking. It didn’t matter which direction. There was no direction. He would get where he needed to go. Join them.

A light. Small, unsteady. A fire. The closer he got, the more he saw of the person sitting in front of it. With their back turned to him. Only one? An adult. It took him a moment to recognise the shape.

“Kakashi, huh?”

Kakashi chuckled freely. “So this is where you are.” He hadn’t expected his father to be the first one he’d meet but he didn’t mind either. He sat down next to him. It had been so long. His eye assessed the shape, the sharingan stayed closed. Sakumo looked just like he remembered him. Just like he died. People didn’t age after they were dead, huh? Rin would still be a girl while he had grown into a man. How would Obito take it to know that Kakashi had grown up like this. Would he be impressed? Or tease him about it? Both? Maybe it was good he hadn’t died an old man.

“Will you tell me your story?”

Ah, yes. His story. It was a good story. Well, not good… but interesting. “Mah… it’s a long story. It’s going to take a while.” Not that it mattered. There was no time where he was going. No rush. Relaxing.

His father finally looked at him and his were the same eyes that had looked at him when he was five. Warm. Full of love. “Ah… that’s okay.” His father was proud of him. It didn’t even matter what Kakashi had done. Even the fact that he was sitting here a grown man and not a teenager was probably enough to make him proud. So he smiled back. It had been a long time since he had really smiled and meant it. He was happy.

His story was a long one indeed. He hadn’t realised just how much had happened in his life until he started to retell it to his father. Sakumo just listened. He didn’t ask, he didn’t judge. He probably understood. The sadness. The loss. The friendships. The hope. Naruto. Their future wasn’t his to see but it was safe in the hands of the orange knucklehead.

“So you didn’t find love.” Sakumo said, a long moment after Kakashi had reached the end of his story. Kakashi shrugged. His priorities had been somewhere else. “It’s a shame. I would’ve wanted you to experience it. Who would’ve thought we both had to die so young. Even though… not as young as your mother.” The pain in his voice was obvious. His mother. Kakashi had never met her. Shouldn’t she be at his father’s side? Was this what death really was? He was stuck on an endless plain sitting at an ever-burning bonfire with his father? That couldn’t be it. Maybe this was just a step on his way. Maybe he would venture on. Maybe he wouldn’t see his father again. He had to ask. This might be his last chance and a shinobi had to take opportunities when they arose without hesitation. “Father… there is something I always wanted to ask…” He didn’t like the look on his father’s face. He didn’t understand it. “Why would someone like you… who was known as the White Fang of the Leaf… disregard the shinobi code and give up on an important mission to save his friends?” Kakashi knew the answer to this question by now. Or he felt like he could guess it. But still… it had hurt him so badly. All this would’ve never happened if his father hadn’t died. Obito would’ve been still alive. Rin… “No one would’ve condemned you if you hadn’t. It would’ve spared you the misery. I was so bitter about it.” Yes, he had been bitter about it for so many years. He still felt it well up inside him. He couldn’t help it.

His father nodded slowly. “I understand. This was hard for you, wasn’t it?”

“Hm…” He knew, his father wouldn’t explain. Sakumo wouldn’t justify himself. He probably couldn’t. It was Kakashi’s job to close the matter. For both of them. He was an adult now, not a petulant child. “The outcome doesn’t matter. I know you did your best. I see that. I understand now.” He couldn’t read the expression in his father’s eye. He didn’t see it. It was his blind side and he just couldn’t look up at Sakumo’s face. Not right now. “You disobeyed to save everyone.” Kakashi, the Kakashi he was now, would’ve done the same. He had done so time and time again. Not that it had changed much. He’d still failed. Time and time again. “I’m proud of you.” His father still stared at him, changed his posture. Then, he looked away.

“Thank you”

Silence settled between them. The cracking of the burning wood was the only sound. The only sign of time passing. Time was still existent, somehow. Just not relevant. Nothing changed. Would anything change, ever? Kakashi didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he cared. He was certainly not ready to leave the bonfire and move on. Neither was his father, apparently. Just how long had he been sitting here?

Suddenly, there was a pull. It came from somewhere, not here. Somewhere far away. Somewhere familiar. Chakra. Stronger than he had ever felt. It was pulling him away. He stood up. His father followed his movements, he seemed to sense the weird chakra presence too. “What is this?”

“You seem to have come here too early.” There was a smile on his father’s face. A different smile. A happy one. “Apparently, you still have something to do.” No. Kakashi stared at him, one-eyed. He’d made his peace. He’d done enough. He didn’t want to go back.

“Father…” He had to help him. One more time, please! But Sakumo just sat and watched and smiled. There was a gleam in his eyes. It had not been there before.

“It was nice to talk to you again. Thank you for forgiving me. Now I can move on in peace.” Kakashi couldn’t withstand the pull any longer. It dragged him further and further away. His father stood slowly, with the movements of an old but determined man. He looked into the darkness, not quite Kakashi’s direction. “Now I can finally go see your mother again,” he heard.

_Maybe there is still someone waiting for you._

Kakashi opened his eyes. He still heard the voice of his father echoing in his head. He wasn’t sure if Sakumo had actually said these last words or it was his own thoughts. The voice was so similar. It was too bright. Akimichi Choji was kneeling next to him, his mouth open in surprise. Kakashi sat up, trying to adjust. He was in his body again. Which meant gravity. Weight. Pain. _Iruka-sensei._ He had no idea why this was the first thought which popped into his reanimated head. He’d seen him, before the fight. He'd basically taken over the fight to let the chunin escape. He had known that he would probably only hold back the Akatsuki for a while. In the end, he had been right. This enemy had been out of his league, he had died. And lived to tell the tale. It was too absurd to even laugh about it. He would've done the same for every chunin, right? He did not feel like he had to save Iruka-sensei in particular. Well, in fact, it did. Why? Because the teacher was important to Naruto. Because Naruto wouldn’t stand another loss of a father figure. Ah, that included himself. Still, he had saved the chunin. Got stuck in rubble for it.He had paid for it with his life. He had died protecting the village like he always wanted to. Or he hadn't. What was happening?

“I’m going to explain everything later.” A voice next to him. A talking slug. Had he said it out loud? Slowly, he turned towards the white-blue mollusk. Every move burned like fire in his chakra exhausted body. He should be used to the feel by now…

So they’d done it. They had defeated the Pain. Well, Naruto had. Of course it would’ve been Naruto who’d done it. And of course the boy would be even more exhausted than Kakashi felt when he came back. So he picked him up. He didn’t know what to do with his newfound life yet but he was probably supposed to thank Naruto for it. Maybe carrying him back to the village and tossing him towards the masses who celebrated him was his way of saying thank you. The warmth on his back was oddly comforting. It didn’t matter that his own body could hardly carry them both. Kakashi could handle pain and exhaustion. He hadn’t felt any comfort for a long time.

_Maybe there is still someone waiting for you._

The crowd’s cheer was earsplitting. Kakashi hated loud noises. He’d had too many paper bombs go off too close to his head. But there was warmth against his back and Naruto stiffened.

“They’ve been waiting for you to come back.” They’d been waiting for their hero come back. The boy had come so far. He’d grown so much. But apparently he still needed Kakashi. Even if it was only about carrying him back on his back. “Naruto… you did well.” Maybe he couldn’t pass the future into Naruto’s hands yet. Maybe it was too early to give up.

_Maybe there is still someone waiting for you._

Iruka-sensei was watching from the side lines. He didn’t go to congratulate the boy. Why? But he was watching Naruto’s every move. Every time they threw him up in the air. He was beaming and grinning proudly. He was weeping openly. A good shinobi didn’t show his feelings. Kakashi wasn’t watching Naruto. He was watching Iruka watching Naruto. It stirred something inside him.

_Maybe there is still someone waiting for you._

That couldn’t be it. Could it?

**Author's Note:**

> This story should in no way promote or glorify dying and death. Yes, death is nothing to be afraid of but it's also not something that should be sought actively. People die when their time has come. Suicide is not a solution to deal with problems. Death is not necessarily a problem for the one who dies but for the people who stay behind.  
> I felt the need to clarify this.
> 
> If you have any opinions, thoughts etc. please leave a comment. :)


End file.
